Which is the Best Baseball Job in 2022? Study Reveals Surprising Answer

The lockout has left us considering some odd alternatives. And the longer this drags on, the farther we get from playing baseball. In our latest musings, we look at how we can get as close to the diamond amidst these unprecedented times.

The baseball front office has proliferated at tremendous rates in recent times. With the expansion of coaching staff and the inclusion of a variety of hitting and fielding coaches as well, it seems as though the front office boom is real. So with so many opportunities at these ball clubs, which really offers the best opportunity? The answer might be as an Assistant GM.

The roles in baseball

Through a study undertaken by the Athletic, we see that the Assistant GM might just be the perfect blend of responsibility and accruing pay. With reasonable security in the job at the No. 2 level, the assistant GMs regularly tend to rake in about a million a year. Not too shabby at all.

In fact, the Assistant GM might just be the longest-tenured job in baseball. With the average Assistant GM servicing the organization for 13.5 years. This is in stark comparison to the GM, whose average tenure spikes at 5.5 years.

Again, the pay might be considered an issue to some, but considering the nature of the job and the exposure one would receive at it, perhaps being a No. 2 is actually more desirable. To hear an executive speak about it, “I can tell you this firsthand: there is no bigger jump between any two jobs to (the No. 1 spot of) GM.”

The only possible difference he spoke about to the Athletic was with regards to the media attention. The executive said, “The public nature of it, the demands of it, the ownership, the media, the fans. It’s a complete change. It’s not like anything anyone has been used to and it’s only getting harder as Twitter keeps going.”

People would much rather just spend some time with their kids without being recognized and think about the game more, all while doing the same work.

Read More: What is a Submarine Pitcher in Baseball? Does the MLB Currently Have One?

The best possible franchise to work for

Leaving aside concerns about where you are based and what the culture of the organization is, let’s Moneyball this problem. Deal with it in stats and numbers instead of emotions and feelings.

The same Athletic study also put together a combined survey of the average tenure at some major league franchises and that could help us shortlist our dream job.

Many may see the cushiest job as being the most secure. Simply organizing by the length of tenure, perhaps the most helpful would be if you were assistant GM at the Oakland Athletics where the average tenure of a member in the front office is 13.8 years. But to those after a bit more glory, perhaps risking a slightly lower average is worth the risk.

The Atlanta Braves and the Yankees present themselves as contenders. With 8.8 years and 10 years as the average tenure at the franchises.

Having said that, perhaps to know what went right, we can also know what can go wrong. And possibly the lowest average tenures could be franchises you would be looking to avoid. The Angels are backmarkers in this respect, with an average tenure of 2 years. With the Mariners and the Cubs being fairly quick on the trigger finger too, with 4.4 and 4.7 years as their average tenure, respectively.

The best job in baseball?

There are several factors that go into picking a team and the nature of the assistant GM could be a bit dangerous, with some risk still involved. An executive speaks to the best job in the organization, “The plum job is a GM under a president.”

The nature of the job may hold itself out to specific organizations which only have the role of President there, but looks like that is ‘the’ gig. Said the executive, “You get the GM title and salary and get to sit in on the GM things but someone above you is making the decision and it’s their head that rolls.”

If it is the responsibility you enjoy, then this isn’t the role for you. But if it’s a job in Major League Baseball that you are after for the glitz and some high-level decision making, all you need to do is look to the next time a team is hiring for GM.